Cat and Mouse Act

The ‘Cat and Mouse Act’ is the usual name given to the
Prisoners, Temporary Discharge for Health Act. The ‘Cat and Mouse Act’ came
into being in 1913. It was introduced to weaken the Suffragettes
led by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst.

The Liberal government of Asquith had been highly
embarrassed by the hunger strike tactic of the Suffragettes. Many of the more
famous Suffragettes were from middle class backgrounds and were educated. While
society as a whole expected certain behaviour from them (which was not
forthcoming), society also held certain values on how the government should act
with regards to when these women were in prison, and therefore under the
jurisdiction of the government.

When some Suffragettes were
arrested they would go on hunger strike. This was a deliberate policy to bring
attention to their cause and also to embarrass the government. To counter this,
the government resorted to force-feeding those women on hunger-strike – an act
usually reserved for those held in what were then called lunatic asylums. This
simple act greatly embarrassed the government. While it avoided the political
disaster of a Suffragette dying in prison – thus creating a martyr for the
movement – it simply did not reflect well on the government.

To get around this, the ‘Cat and Mouse Act’ was
introduced. The logic behind this was simple: a Suffragette would be arrested;
she would go on hunger strike; the authorities would wait until she was too weak
(through lack of food) to do any harm if in public. She would then be released
‘on licence’. Once out of prison, it was assumed that the former prisoner
would start to eat once again and re-gain her strength over a period of time. If
she committed an offence while out on licence, she would be immediately
re-arrested and returned to prison. Here, it was assumed that she would then go
back on hunger strike. The authorities would then wait until she was too weak to
cause trouble and then she would be re-released ‘on licence’.

The nickname of the act came about because of a cat’s
habit of playing with its prey (a mouse) before finishing it off.

Research does indicate that the act did not do a great
deal to deter the activities of the Suffragettes.
Their violent actions only ceased with the outbreak of war and their support of
the war effort. However, the start of the war in August 1914, and the ending of
all Suffragette activities for the duration of the war, means that the
potentially full impact of the 'Cat and Mouse Act' will never be known.